The NBA and Utah Jazz went out of their way to honor NBA legend Karl Malone during All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City. However, Malone’s presence cast a pall over the preceding for a lot of NBA fans considering what he did in the past involving a 12-year-old girl. Malone made it clear that he’s aware of critics and those who think he’s not a good person but it doesn’t sound like he cares to discuss anything with them.
The major talking point online surrounding Malone all week was that, when he was a 20-year-old college student, he impregnated a 13-year-old girl who then gave birth to a son. While her family did not press charges against him, Malone also didn’t initially pay child support despite being an NBA player. Her family eventually sued for support and they settled with him out of court. As part of the settlement, Malone was not required to publicly acknowledge that he was the child’s father, though that fact was never in doubt. This was also not the only settlement he’s made with a woman over child support for children he fathered.
None of that information was new this past week, but times are very different and such things don’t get swept under the rug as easily anymore. So even though the NBA and the Jazz tried to deflect that kind of attention, it was front and center for many as Malone was honored and applauded in Salt Lake City.
The two-time MVP was asked about how he handles criticism over his past actions and he shared a little bit of an answer.
“I know people talk negative about me,” Malone said on Friday. Though, as the Salt Lake Tribune’s Gordon Monson noted, when asked about the rising backlash against him in the public, Malone said he didn’t want to talk about his personal life and had no further comments.
“I’m not discussing any of that backlash. I don’t care,” he said, per an archived version of the SLT article. “That’s my life, that’s my personal life, and I’ll deal with that like I’ve had to deal with everything. So, whatever.”
Later on, when discussing some of his former coaches, Malone did touch on how he feels about personal criticism.
“You know when you’re [being] disrespected. I have feelings,” Malone said. “Words do two things — they uplift or they tear down.” He said he wanted more than anything respect. “If you respect me, I respect you.”
It’s unclear why Malone should command any respect for his personal life decisions, but there you go.
